God & Rice Ball Trilogy 3: Man
by shadowglove
Summary: Sequel to the oneshots: God, and Tears... It takes Tohru regaining the many memories he had Hatori erase, and nearly losing her forever because of them, to get Akito to finally admit, even if only to himself, that a god is still very much just a man.


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Disclaimer: I don't own.

This is the sequel to the oneshots "God" and "Tears" and last installment in the trilogy.

_**This is for **_black anime fan_** who wanted a trilogy.**_

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"So, it has returned."

Sitting on the floor on a cushion besides him, Tohru managed a soft nod. Her hair was let down in messy waves like Akito-san liked it whenever they were alone, and she wore an elegant pink kimono decorated with lilies as pale as Akito's skin.

"When?" That voice was oddly emotionless when she'd been sure the revelation would cause fury to erupt in him like the fires of hell.

"Some weeks now," she chanced a look up into his face, finding it completely closed off, blank. "I've been seeing images, hearing things, situations I know I've lived through, places I've seen, voices I've heard, people I've loved."

He flinched at the last word, eyes growing demonically dark yet still not saying a word.

"You didn't save my life—you took it away from me." She was surprised by how emotionless her voice was, how Akito-like she'd become in this year with him.

"We made a deal, Sohma Tohru." Akito finally spoke, voice dangerous, hair falling into his face, shielding his expression from her. "Your life for that of those filthy _Juunishi_. You _gave_ me your life."

"I would have died for them." She whispered, images of Yuki, Kyo, Shigure, Ayame, Momiji, Kisa, and the rest of the zodiacs flashing through her tortured mind. "Why didn't you just kill me? Why did you keep me with you? Took me to your bed? _Married_ me?"

"Do you _dare_ question god's decisions?" He hissed, his hand shooting out and grabbing a fistful of her hair, pulling her painfully towards him. "You _ungrateful_ creature! I took you, molded you from the _pitiful_ being you once were and made you what you are now! Look at you! You are the _wife_ of god! You rule the Main House under my command; you dress better than the Emperor's wife and have just as many servants as she does to tend to your every little whim!"

"Yes, I dare question him--_you_!" She cried out, surprising them both by her uncharacteristic defiance. "You went against our deal, Akito. It was supposed to be temporary—until you died—and Hatori had said that you didn't have a year left. But you are no longer dying nor is this a temporary deal! You _married_ me Akito! Marriage should be based on mutual love!" She tugged her hair out of his hold, which had loosened in shock at her raised voice. "_Not_ out of the morbid desire of someone to hurt others--which was the only reason you married me. You—you—"

She stood rapidly, fighting the tears that threatened to appear. She couldn't look weak. Akito despised weakness. "You knew that by marrying me you'd hurt Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and everyone else! You married me just to torture them!"

"And what if I did? What if, while you were repeating your vows, I was sneering at the cursed _Juunishi_ watching the ceremony and unable to stop it from proceeding? What of it?!" He sneered when he finally shook off the shock of what'd just happened. "Why should I deny that I enjoyed knowing they suffered? That I _thrived_ off of their pain and their sadness as they watched you pledge yourself to me and only me for your whole life!"

She shook her head at him, those tears harder to keep at bay. "You're a monster."

"No. The _cat _is a monster." He stood as well. "I--_I_ am god! And you, you are mine by right and by law."

"_Not any more_!" Yanking the taunting diamond on her finger, she threw it at him and turned to leave, giving a little frightened cry when he moved quicker than the blinking of an eye, his fingers closing around her wrist and twirling her furiously to face him before pushing her against the wall, pinning her body with his.

"And _where_ do you think _you're_ going?" He whispered into her ear, voice dark and angry, rough and coarse.

"Away from _you_." Yet her voice was quickly losing its conviction as he insinuated his thigh between hers. Her body trembled as he lowered his mouth to the curve of her neck and bit down with his sharp teeth, before pulling back to lick at the blood that'd risen from the wound.

Tohru's eyes rolled in the back of her head as he nibbled against the skin of her neck, the flesh of her earlobe, the curve of her jaw line. She wanted to hate him, hate him from taking her away from the people she'd loved, taking away her memories, for marrying her only because he knew it would keep her from her beloved zodiacs forever.

But more than anything else, she wanted to hate him for making her fall in love with him.

"No one else will ever touch you, Tohru-kun." He whispered in her ear, his breath sending shivers of pleasurable goose bumps throughout her body. "This body of yours, your very _soul_ is _mine_."

_His_. Not 'god's'.

"Your heart is mine too—or have your memories stolen that from me?"

Once again he spoke without referring to himself as god, which only served to confuse her further.

"I _hate_ you, Sohma Akito." She whimpered as he began to rub his thigh against her heat, sending ripples of pleasure throughout her body. "Why did you have to make me love you? Why did you trick me into marrying you when it meant nothing to you other than revenge? Why won't you just let me _go_?"

He paused. "Does it truly matter _why_?" There was an odd sound to his voice.

"Yes." She cried, finally letting her tears run free. "It _does_."

He broke away from her, his eyes boring into her own blankly before he surprised her stiff by bringing his hand to her face and wiping her tears tenderly. _Tenderness_ wasn't something one could associate with Akito-sama, so his actions left her stunned.

"Because maybe, just _maybe_," his fingers curled around her sharp little chin, raising it until their gazes met. "Despite my better judgment, despite all my disgust, despite your irritating laughter, your annoying optimism, the _sickening_ way you smile up at me whenever I unknowingly do something to make you happy—maybe—_maybe_—it brings me more pleasure than their misery ever did."

Tohru's heart stopped. "_A-A-Akito-sama?"_ What was he _saying_?

He let go of her chin roughly. "But I can always find someone else to amuse me." He gave her his back. "Leave if you want. I care not." With that he strode away furiously.

The tears fell furiously as she covered her face with her hands, sinking to her knees, giving into her misery. She didn't know how long she was there, crying out her heartbreak and her sadness, but it seemed like an eternity passed before she realized that she wasn't alone anymore.

The young woman looked up, hoping against hope that it was Akito, but it was only a saddened Hatori.

"Tohru-san." He sighed, coming towards her and bending to his knees in front of her, holding her as close as he could without turning into his cursed form as she cried against him. He was her only friend, the only one who Akito allowed near her, the only one who'd known that she'd recovered her memory despite how _impossible_ that was supposed to be.

"He told me to leave, Hatori—told me he'd find someone else to amuse him." She whimpered. "I truly only was a plaything he used to entertain himself with."

The doctor was silent for a moment. "That wasn't what he just told me, Tohru-chan."

She pulled away, wiping furiously at her tears. "W-what do you mean, Hatori-kun?"

The elder man looked down at her confused face and shook his head, leaning back and running a shaking hand through his hair. The movement let the light shine upon a dark bruise forming on his cheekbone. "Akito just stormed into my clinic, furious with me for 'messing up' with your memory erasing, and ordered me to do it again."

She gasped, half-horrified, half-hopeful. "H-h-he did?"

"'_If you value your life you won't mess it up __this__ time_!' were his exact words." The doctor winced at the memory, his voice emotionless.

Tohru leaned back on her knees, looking at her hands before raising her gaze to him. "W-what are you going to do?"

"I can't do it again Tohru, it could—it could hurt—the baby."

Her eyes widened and she placed her hand on her flat stomach, remembering yet _another_ 'impossibility' that'd occurred ever since she'd gone to Akito. The God of the _Juunishi_ wasn't supposed to live past his twentieth birthday—much less be able to father a child. "D-d-did you tell him?"

"No."

They were silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"What are you going to do, Tohru-chan?" Hatori finally broke the silence. "If you still want to escape, I will help you."

They both knew that if Akito ever discovered Hatori's assistance in her escape he'd likely kill him.

She looked up at Hatori, pressing her hands tenderly into her stomach, mind set.

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Akito paced the room, agitation rising from his body. What was taking the damned dragon so long with the erasing of that ungrateful wench's memory? The god of the _Juunishi_ hated the strange ache in his heart, and tried to convince himself that it was due to some ill-cooked food, and _not_ the thought of that idiotic girl leaving him forever…

…And most probably leaving him to run with arms wide open to the _rat_.

_He should have finished by now!_

There was no way the god would let those disgusting _creatures_ have her again. She was his. _His_! Who was she to defy him and challenge him on that front? He was god! _Her_ god! Her master! Her lover! Her husband! He'd tried to make her happy!

_Lover? __Husband_? _**Happy**_

He froze and sneered at himself for having thought such sentimental crap. What was wrong with him? Was he suddenly getting ill all over again? Only some illness could have made him think that sort of thing!

_I'm her __**god**__! She should be licking my socks in gratitude for the life I've given her by my side!_

Akito nodded to himself, approving more of that line of thought than his former one.

Hearing the sound of the door sliding open, he turned, expecting to see a confused and properly subdued, nervous Tohru without any of the memories that would take her away from him. He'd _once more_ mold and turn her into the woman of his drea—of his house—yes—of his _house_.

But instead, Hatori stood there alone, body tense.

Akito's eyes narrowed.

This wasn't good.

"_Well_?" He hissed, fists clenching and unclenching.

" It couldn't be done." Hatori's voice was emotionless.

"_What_?" He growled, taking menacing steps towards his cousin.

"Her body rejected it. Somehow—somehow she still remembers everything."

"Do it again!" Akito ordered, slapping the older man fiercely with all the pent up frustration in his body. "Do it again and again and _again_ until it works! I _won't_ lose her Hatori. I _won't_!"

"Akito-sama, it won't make any difference." Hatori's voice was cold, his cheek obviously throbbing from the ferocious blow. "She's not losing her memory no matter how many times I try it."

Akito froze, fury mixing with an emotion he wasn't accustomed to and couldn't name bubbling within him. "_Do it,_ Hatori." He hissed. "She'll leave me if you don't get her to forget them. She'll leave me all alone and never come back." His voice softened against his will, and he hated himself for the choked sound he let out. "Make her forget them. If you don't I'll kill that damned cat, and after I'm done with that rat I'll make him _wish_ he was back in that room!"

"Akito-sama--." Hatori looked surprised and frightened.

"I'll kill them all if you don't make her forget them!" He threatened wildly. "If it'll keep her with me I'll kill each and every damned _Juunishi_ myself!"

He was serious.

"Tohru-chan is just a plaything for you." Hatori spoke, once more cool and collected. "Why do you care so much that she might love them more than she loves you?"

Akito growled. "I _don't_! I _don't_ care!"

"Then let her go and get another to take her place."

"_No_!"

"_Why_?"

"Because she's _mine_ and mine alone!" Akito's eyes were demonic black with infernal fury as they glared at Hatori. "They don't deserve her smile or her love! They don't deserve her mere _presence_! They make her work and they take advantage of her—using her to make them feel a little more _human_ when all they are is a bunch of disgusting animals! I give her all she could ever want, and how does the _stupid child_ repay me? She wants to return to _them_!"

There was shocked silence before Hatori finally found his voice. "You love her."

Akito's head jerked up, his eyes narrowed as he hissed. "What foolishness are you talking about Hatori?"

Hatori shook his head in awe, palm on his forehead as if checking to see if he was having a hallucination brought on by fever.

"Get out." Akito hissed.

The doctor turned and left without quarrel, still shaking his head.

Waiting until he could no longer hear Hatori's footsteps, Akito flung the doors open and stormed to Tohru's room. While they were married she still had her own room to keep her things in since he didn't fancy having her knickknacks clashing with his own room and belongings. She would sleep there whenever she felt ill. Or sad.

Throwing the doors open, Akito paused. She wasn't there. He frowned, she might be hiding from him. He looked through the room, frown growing darker as he noticed some of her things gone. The nightgown she liked so much, her handbag—the picture they'd taken together (when she'd caught him unawares and shoved the annoying camera towards him)—they were gone.

His annoyance gave way to something he couldn't quite name.

But it wasn't nice.

And his stomach felt like he would be ill.

"Tohru!" He called, tearing the room apart viciously.

She hadn't left him, had she?

Had she taken opportunity of the time Hatori had been speaking to him to escape and go to the house where Shigure, the cat and Yuki lived?

_Well, if she thinks she can escape me that easily she's mistaken_!

Stalking to his room to change his shoes, he nearly tore down the door in his anger, frustration, and haste, but the furious god suddenly froze in mid-step. There she was, the object of his angry thoughts, wearing her favorite night gown and sleeping peacefully on his bed. Her handbag was thrown carelessly on the floor—the picture of her smiling and him scowling in annoyance placed tenderly on the nightstand by her side of the bed.

Even sleeping she somehow managed to have that damnable smile on her face.

Akito tilted his head to the side, confusion frustrating him as he closed the door silently behind him, not wanting to wake her. What was she doing here? Why hadn't she run? Didn't she still have her memories? Had Hatori lied to him?

As he thought the last one he shorted, shaking his head in dark amusement.

No.

Hatori didn't have the guts to lie to his god.

So that only left Akito with one explanation to her presence in his room, in his _bed_.

She'd chosen him.

She'd chosen to _stay_.

Attributing his suddenly moist eyes to the pollen in the spring air, and deciding to punish the servants for obviously not cleaning his room properly, Akito began stripping himself of his clothes and then walked towards the bed, pulling the sheets up and slipping in between. He paused, watching her as she slept with her back towards him, before scooting closer and wrapping a possessive arm around her waist, bringing her back flush against him.

Breathing in her never-changing strawberry scent, he closed his eyes with a sigh of contentment which he refused to acknowledge came from him. Tomorrow the god would give her an earful on how ungrateful she truly was for even _contemplating_ leaving him, but for tonight, as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her next to him, he was just a relieved man sleeping with his wife.

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**Okay, the trilogy is complete.**

**Hopefully people liked it.**

**I can't help it. I love writing Akito--he's such an ass!**

**Snickers… **

**How about giving me a review?**


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